


The Classified Files

by taetaenoway



Series: Assassination Academia [2]
Category: Assassination Classroom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Assassination and Quirks, BNHA Character Cameos, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, One Shot Collection, Quirk Discrimination (My Hero Academia), Side Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-01-15 02:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21246092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taetaenoway/pseuds/taetaenoway
Summary: "If Karasuma asks, Ritsu hacked the server.""The hell, Jolly Green?"aka the deleted scenes, requests, and one shots of assassination academia





	1. The Many Pranks of Shinsou and Karma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe im back

It will never be said that Akabane Karma has the highest regard for humans. Even those he cares about tend to be on the receiving end of his malicious tendencies.

Shinsou Hitoshi does have high regard for humans — it’s why he wants to be a hero. But he also carries a deep, bitter resentment inside of him that he enjoys letting out.

So, it is inevitable that when these two become friends, they find joy in plotting together.

The world should be very afraid.

-.-.-.-

It started with Shinsou harmlessly eyeing a shelf of cat plushies (he was a bit obsessed, okay?), spotting a stuffed lion cub, and sending a picture to Karma captioned ‘Terasaka’s little brother.’

The next thing he knew, Karma was sending him money to buy said plushie with little explanation as to why until they saw each other at school the next day.

“We all know Terasaka’s an animal-brained idiot,” Karma said with no formalities. “I’m just curious how far that idiocracy goes.”

So, they set it up. After school, Terasaka and his gang consistently hung out by the storage building to mess around and would leave one-by-one until Terasaka was always the last one (seeing off his ‘pride,’ Shinsou figured). So, after Muramatsu left Terasaka alone, Shinsou used his capture rings to fling the stuffed lion into the dirt path Terasaka should soon cross.

“Smile for the camera,” Karma mocked, holding up his phone to record. About a minute later, Terasaka finally left his spot by the shed and walked directly down their intended path (so predictable). At first, it seemed like the oblivious lion boy was going to walk right past it. But then, right before he could step on the stuffed animal, Terasaka froze.

Slowly, so slowly, Terasaka took a step back and stared down at the lion club plushie. His ear flickered and his nose twitched, but beyond that, he didn’t move.

“C’mon, Lion Boy…” Shinsou muttered. 

Finally, Terasaka moved, leaning down and picking up the stuffed animal. He held it up so it was eye level, glanced to check and see if anyone was around, and then cradled the plushie to his chest.

“Who the fuck would leave something like this in the dirt…” Terasaka said as he walked into the treeline and down the mountain, still hugging the stuffed lion cub.

There was a long pause. Shinsou and Karma turned to look at each other. And then—

“BWAHAHAHAHA!” Shinsou sputtered, leaning against a cackling Karma. “Wow, I can’t believe that just happened!”

“The idiot treated it like a real cub!” Karma chortled. “Why am I so surprised?”

The kept the video circling around for months. Every time Terasaka got Itona to delete it, it would somehow end up online again.

(And yes, Itona got a lot of money from Karma to keep that video from actually disappearing.)

-.-.-.-

Because of Okuda’s ability to see the world in its chemical compounds, it was well known that she was...a bit of a germaphobe. 

So of course Karma and Shinsou had to do something about it.

Nothing to cruel, of course — they quite liked the little science nerd — but enough to get a good laugh.

They printed a sheet of paper with the intent of handing it to Okuda. To the normal person, they would notice the odd near-microscopic black dots all over the paper. To Okuda, who spent her life seeing things in dots, would recognize them as the chemical compound for corynebacterium diphteriae bacteria.

The hope is that she will be so freaked out by seeing the bacteria that she won’t recognize that the chemical compounds are much too large and, well, printed out with ink.

“Hey Okuda, could you check over my chemistry homework?” Shinsou innocently asked one day during study hall. Karma stood off to the side, subtly filming it all.

“Why sure, Shins-SOU! OH MY—” 

Before she even touched the paper, the petite girl scrambled backward in horror. Trying to hide his laughter, Shinsou blinked and asked, “What? I didn’t mess up that bad, did I?”

Okuda, sputtering silently, couldn’t even form words anymore. She just frantically shook her head before stumbling out of the classroom, making a bee-line for the bathroom.

When she was gone, Shinsou turned to Karma and the duo high-fived in triumph. Karma smirked.

“Hmm, that worked out even better than I expected.”

(Okuda’s video did not get circulated through the class because they respected the girl a good deal. They did show it to her when they confessed their prank for a good laugh.)

(And yes. Okuda did get her revenge.)

-.-.-.-

The prank on Okajima took a lot more people and a lot more conspiracy than the others.

Karma thought it up when he heard Mimura ask Okajima, “Dude, what would you do if your quirk glitched and kept people frozen?”

Okajima laughed. “I don’t know, man, but it’d sure be freaky!”

So, secretly messaging and talking to everyone in the class except Okajima, Karma and Shinsou orchestrated their greatest prank yet.

It was set up like this: during lunch, when their teachers were in their offices, the whole class would sit and hang out in the classroom. Nothing unusual. Okajima was known for accidentally triggering his quirk when he sneezes, so Takebayashi and Okuda created a tiny chemical compound that would make someone sneeze when inhaled. It was made into a poppy seed-sized BB and given to Chiba, who, at the right moment, would flick it into Okajima’s nose. The boy would sneeze, seemingly trigger his quirk, except when the second was up, nobody would move. They would stay completely still, making it seem like Okajima’s quirk ‘glitched.’

It was brilliant.

Chiba nodded subtly, signaling to the class that he was about to go. They braced themselves, getting into the position they planned on staying frozen in, and…

“AHH-CHOOOO!”

Okajima sniffled, wiping at his nose. “Man, that was a big one, amiright, guys?” A pause. “Guys?”

Shinsou positioned himself so it looked like he was showing Midoriya something on his phone, and he could just barely see Okajima’s reaction out of the corner of his eye. The teen was glancing around frantically, his panic becoming more and more evident.

“Guys? Are you alright?” He lightly poked Kimura, who didn’t even flinch. “Guys this isn’t funny. Hello?”

He waved his hand in front of Hayami’s face, but the stoic girl, who rarely ever change her expression, didn’t blink. That combined with the fact that she was frozen in a position that looked like she was mid-trip (the ability to control your balance equilibrium was quintessential for this prank), and it really looked like she was Snapshotted frozen.

“No…” Okajima breathed, backing up. “No, no, no, no, no! Korosensei! Karasuma-sensei! Help! I froze the class!”

The boy sprinted out of the room, screaming for help, and that’s when everyone lost it. Shinsou leaned against Midoriya, laughing so hard it was difficult to breathe. Nakamura fell over laughing. Even Hayami and Chiba cracked some smiles.

“I feel so bad for laughing. He seemed really scared!” Midoriya said between giggles. Shinsou waved him off.

“Nah, he’ll be fine. It was just a harmless prank.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by LudiCola and I quite enjoyed thinking it up!


	2. Hair Dye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a request by Belloultro and I think it's pretty hilarious.

Karma wasn’t usually one to believe in curses. If someone kept blaming all their bad luck on a ‘curse,’ then he saw it as an excuse for sucking at everything. There was no curse to blame for incompetence.

But then Karma will think about his hair and consider maybe, just maybe, curses do exist.

His hair was arguably a curse for many reasons. One, it reminded him of everything he didn’t get (and his mysterious twin consequently did) in life. Karma does not like it when opportunities are taken away from him, and he absolutely does not like being considered second best. It’s why he’s made it his life's goal to destroy anyone who made him feel that way — Asano, Korosensei, Nagisa (though that one was resolved much more...simply).

Two, it looked plain awful. Like a Santa hat, Shinsou would so kindly point out.

(Yes, he made the purple giant pay for that comment.)

Three, dyeing his hair was incredibly tedious. Unlike normal hair, while it would be red at the roots, the hair gradually lost its color as it went on until the tips were stark white. It didn’t matter how short it was (he had, during a particularly low point in his life, buzzed his hair so short it was barely there, yet somehow it still adjusted to maintain the annoying ombre effect).

Hence, a curse.

But perhaps the worst part about his hair — the part that drove him up the wall, made his sanity slip a little bit more each time — was buying hair dye. He hated every bit of it — going to the store, requesting to have the perfect red color mixed (hence why he couldn’t buy it online), and getting in fights with workers who couldn’t do their jobs and get the damn color right. 

He hates it. Every damn bit of it.

-.-.-.-

Once a month, Karma has to go into a very specific salon and pick up more hair color. On a good day, the shop owner is there (she’s the only person who can get the color right on the first try). On a bad day, she’s not. On a really bad day, it’s some newbie employee that’s more clueless than Terasaka with a ‘Kick-Me’ sign on his back.

Today was a very, very bad day.

After nearly making the employee cry after she failed three (3) times to get the color right, Karma resorted to walking around to cool his head off while she went to call and ask her boss to come in. He figured it was the best chance he had at avoiding murder. 

He was strolling down the aisles of the salon and casually flipping a pocket knife (murder still wasn’t off the table even if he was trying to avoid it) when he came across a boy around his age with jet-black hair eyeing the hair color wall pensively. At first, Karma paid no mind to the other person and was content on strolling past and ignoring them.

But then he saw what hair dye the boy was reaching for.

See, Karma has gone through a lot of different hair dyes before accepting that creating a custom dye was the only viable option. And he just so happened to remember that the red hair dye Stranger Boy was about to grab is the worst of them all — patchy, color didn’t match the picture, damaged his hair. It was a nightmare.

And while Karma wasn’t particularly nice, especially to strangers, he wasn’t evil, and letting anyone touch that demon dye would be plain evil.

“I wouldn’t buy that if I were you,” he said.

The stranger jolted. “H-Huh?”

“That hair dye. It’s absolute trash. Don’t buy it.”

The stranger blinked. “Oh. Thanks.”

There’s a long pause of silence, Karma and the stranger just staring each other down. Well, more so Karma staring the stranger down; the boy seemed much too frazzled to hold Karma’s gaze.

“Um, I’m Kirishima Ejirou…” he paused, clearly waiting for a response, but Karma didn’t say anything. “S-So, um, do you dye your hair often?”

Karma pocketed his pocket knife with a sigh. “Unfortunately.”

Clearly taken aback by the harsh answer, the boy, Kirishima, nodded awkwardly. “Ah, cool, that’s cool. I’m planning on dyeing my hair too — though I guess you already know that, huh? What hair dye brand do you usually use? Your color is sick; super manly and all. Say, think you could show me which one you use? I just got accepted into U.A. and I want to change my hair so it’s bolder and more hero-like, kind of like Crimson Riot! Red hair will make me way more memorable to the press and hopefully get me more jobs—”

Tired of hearing the rambling (he gets enough from Midoriya, thank you), Karma picked up a bottle of hair dye and tossed it at the other boy. Surprisingly, Kirishima actually caught it. Looks like his reflexes might actually be worthy of a hero student.

“This brand should work. It’s not the kind I use, but it’ll get the look you’re going for.”

Kirishima blinked and smiled widely, showing off his shark-like teeth. “Wow, thanks man! Got any other tips?”

Karma sighed. “Get it done professionally the first time unless you want permanent bleach damage. Have the hairdresser teach you to touch up the roots. Try to avoid going bald.”

The door rang as it opened, and finally, the shop owner walked in. Finally, he can get out of here.

“Best of luck, Kimishimi — or whatever your name is,” Karma walked away. Just before he turned the corner, a thought came to his mind, as if Korosensei or Midoriya were whispering in his ear. And against his better judgment, he turned around. “Oh, and if you’re planning to change your look to appear more marketable as a hero, you might want to try a different hairstyle. Down makes you look like an emo lamp shade.”

Karma disappeared before Kirishima could say anything, feeling good about himself. He was such a nice person sometimes; Nagisa and Korosensei would be so proud.


	3. Mountain Raid Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many of yall requested this, I decided to make it two parts!

“You’re sure that’s all?”

“Positive,” Mimura responded. “Between grooming through my Recorded memories on the day we were on the base for any hero sightings, Itona’s drone reconnaissance, and Ritsu’s searches through all the hero management servers, we’ve come up with a list that’s as exact as one can get. As of the past week, these are all the Pros that can be accounted for.”

Karma hummed, adjusting the phone in his grip. Across from him sat Nagisa, having snuck out of his father’s house. While they couldn’t meet as a whole class without drawing suspicion, Itona and Ritsu programmed their phones so they’ll be safe from the government trying to listen in and catch onto their plotting.

“And we know where each hero will be stationed?” Nagisa asked, gnawing on his lip.

“Yeah,” Itona huffed. “They’ve been sticking to the same areas over the past week, so I doubt anything is going to change. Pretty stupid of them, not switching up the guards or their stations, but it makes our job easier.”

It sure did. Since they knew with near certainty which Pro-Hero to expect and where to expect them, it was easy to map out a game plan. All they had to do was analyze which E-class student was best suited against which Pro using Nagisa and Midoriya’s geek notes, and then set them up to fight. With E-class already knowing their target and the terrain, it meant they had a vast advantage over their opponents despite the differences in strength.

“It’ll probably be a good idea to have a team act as scouts in case there are any surprises the night of the raid,” Karma hummed, looking down the lists of E-class students and heroes on the mountain, mentally matching them up. Kataoka was an obvious choice to take out Selkie, and with a little assistance, Kimura might be able to outrun and trap Ingenium. Present Mic was a tricky one — he’ll need to do more research for that one…

And then Karma’s eyes landed on the bottom of the list, where the name of a certain hero infamously always ranked second laid. A cruel, calculated smile appeared on the devil boy’s face.

Nagisa, sensing the change in emotion, glanced over to the red-haired boy, and then down to the papers in his hands. And he became very, very afraid for what was about to come.

-.-.-.-

“Oh my god, Sir Nighteye, I’m such a big fan, I have all of your merch and you’re quirk is just the coolest, it’s like the opposite of my quirk but that contrast seems to link us so I’ve always admired you, I think it’s so cool how you can see so far into the future, I wish I could see that much, hey, can you sign my shirt?”

Sir Nighteye was not exactly the hero type to attract overly-enthusiastic fans. Or any fans, for that matter. So when a young girl in a military uniform came bounding up to him, he was...flustered, to say the least. But thankfully, he was still able to think straight enough and know this was very wrong because currently, he was patrolling a mountain containing the most dangerous villain in the world, and no civilians were allowed, much less a middle-school-aged girl.

Realizing what was going on, Sir Nighteye reached for one of his stamp seals, only for another girl with a high ponytail and gleaming eyes to appear from the shadows.

“Oh, can you please stop right there and sign my shirt too? And make sure you use this pen.”

But apparently, even his superior brain could get distracted. Because the next thing he knew, he was grabbing the ‘pen,’ which was clearly not a pen, but a tranquilizer and pricked his thumb with the needle. Within seconds, his vision blurred and the world toppled to the side before going dark.

“Whew, that was easy,” Fuwa sighed, high-fiving Yada. “I’m kinda bummed, though. I really did want him to sign my shirt.”

-.-.-.-

Ectoplasm heard the chaos over the comms and deduced there must be some kind of attack, so by the time this mysterious enemy finally reached him, he had already created an army of thirty clones, ready to fight whoever was attacking the mountain.

He was shocked when a young girl, likely even younger than the students he taught at U.A., stepped out from the treeline.

He was even more shocked when said young girl touched the device in her hands (was that a video game?) and suddenly even more clones of himself appeared. And then said fake-clones started charging at his real clones. 

“What the—” Ectoplasm hissed, opening his mouth to expel more clones.

Unfortunately for him, this action only alerted Kanzaki who was the real Ectoplasm. And with her army of holograms blocking her from view, she easily drew her weapon and fired her tranquilizer. It flew right through the holograms blocking the Pro-Hero’s eyesight and nailed Ectoplasm in between the eyes.

“Catch them off guard, take them down quick,” Kanzaki muttered as all of the clones began to dispel, quoting the instructions Karma gave them when giving out assignments. Well, it seemed like his strategy was working well.

-.-.-.-

Okuda watched patiently as Native treaded through the forest. The Pro-Hero was clearly trying to go undetected, but that was hard to achieve when you were being hunted. 

Just as Native stepped next to the bush she was hiding in, Okuda gave the signal to Kurahashi (two morse code taps through the comm) and waited. Seconds later, on the opposite side of the grove, a trill of birds sounded, startling Native enough to distract him.

Okuda immediately rolled out two round spheres before making a run for it, ducking behind a tree. Within seconds, the tranquilizer-filled smoke bombs went off with a pop. She could hear harsh coughing and gasping, quickly followed by a loud thunk as the Pro-Hero went down.

She counted to ten (how long it takes for the smoke to disperse) before stepping out into the grove again, smiling at Kurahashi.

“We did it!” the orange-haired girl cheered, and Okuda nodded.

“My smoke bombs really worked,” she noted happily. “I was worried they might not work on Native because of his quirk or hero suit.”

Kurahashi paused. “What is Native’s quirk?”

This also made Okuda pause and blink. “I...I don’t really know.”

-.-.-.-

When Isogai heard his target was Rock Lock, he knew this would be no easy task, especially considering the slight similarities in their quirks. But thankfully, he had a team to help him out.

Signaling to Yoshida as they approached their target, Isogai jumped down from the trees in front of the Pro-Hero as planned, holding a large metal board. The Pro-Hero blinked at his sudden arrival but didn’t let down his guard.

“You must be one of the people attacking the mountain,” Rock Lock grumbled. “Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting a little kid.”

“Few people ever are,” Isogai said with a shrug before swinging the board at the Pro-Hero’s face. Unsurprisingly, Rock Lock jumped out of the way and slammed the metal board to the ground, locking it there with his quirk.

Just like they planned.

Immediately, Yoshida came rolling out from the treeline, the wheels on his feet letting him zoom by quicker than Rock Lock could react. He slammed a strange metal contraption into the board, and Isogai didn’t hesitate to merge the two items together. Before Rock Lock could react, a catapult of tranquilizer BBs came flying at him, striking him multiple times and taking him down in seconds.

“Sweet it worked!” Yoshida cheered, throwing up his hands — well, hand, actually, since there was only one hand to throw up. The other one was currently merged into a catapult.

Isogai laughed and pulled out a pocket laser Itona created that could cut through metal and detached the makeshift catapult arm. “Thank goodness my quirk considers your arm inanimate when it’s detached — and that you still have limited control over it.”

“Yeah, it is pretty handy being part robot,” Yoshida laughed, taking back his metal arm and attaching it back to his body. “Hey, Mr. President, think you could merge this wire back together?”

-.-.-.-

Present Mic wasn’t Terasaka’s assignment. His job was to team up with Muramatsu and take down Hound Dog, which they did without breaking a sweat — the prissy dog hero didn’t know what he had coming.

But when he spotted the Voice Hero taking on Sugaya and Takebayashi (it seemed their drop-in surprise failed), he couldn’t just stand still and let his friends get their ears blown out. And while he had no clue what he was doing, that was nothing new. He never knew what he was doing — he just did.

So, stepping protectively in front of his friends, Terasaka reared back and let out the deepest, loudest roar he could muster the same time Present Mic activated his quirk. There was a strange ripple in the air as the two soundwaves collided, and everyone braced for an ear-bleeding impact but...nothing happened.

Not ones to stop and question anything, Terasaka and Muramatsu charged, using their superior animal speed and strength to truck the hero down hard enough to knock him unconscious. 

“Heh, that’s right. No one hurts my pride,” he growled, high-fiving Muramatsu. 

Sugaya choked on his spit, “Did — Did you just call us your pride?” while Takebayashi rubbed his chin in thought. “You used your roar to equate the soundwave impact of Present Mic’s, therefore canceling it out before it could reach us. It was...brilliant.”

Terasaka sneered. “Hey, don’t sound so surprised! I’m not that stupid!”

“Dude, did you actually plan for this to happen?!” Muramatsu gaped, and Terasaka scratched the back of his mane.

“Well...no. But it doesn’t matter because I still took him down and saved all your asses, alright?!”

The other boy rolled his eyes playfully while Takebayashi leaned down to inject a tranquilizer in the downed hero. Sugaya, on the other hand, couldn’t stop gaping.

“Wait, hold up — are we really not going to address that you called us ‘your pride?’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two containing the famed meeting of Karma and Endeavor coming soon...
> 
> Also, I know what you're all thinking: When will the sequel come out? Well, between ignoring college assignments and writing during work, I'm pleased to announce an **(estimated)** release date! Drum roll please....
> 
> Assassination Academia Sequel...To Become a Hero...will (hopefully) be released...January 2nd! Woooooo!
> 
> Why the 2nd, you may ask? Well, that's the anniversary of To Save the World being posted, and I thought it was fitting! There's no guarantee, but this is my current goal. Two months, my dude! I'm so excited (and nervous and panicked and stressed)!
> 
> Until then, you will randomly get postings from this one shot collection to get you hyped for the sequel! Yay!


	4. Mountain Raid Part Two

Nagisa may not personally understand the emotional turmoil Karma has gone through, but he can feel the after-effects almost every day. The deep-brooding conflict, the simmering hatred, the confusion, the betrayal, the mistrust. He can feel it all, even when he’s trying not too because it’s  _ so loud. _

You don’t need to be an empath to know Karma is emotionally unstable. But as an empath, Nagisa wonders how Karma’s emotionally  _ functioning _ at this point.

He thought learning Karma’s backstory would clear things up, and it did, to an extent. But there’s so much emotion, so much conflict that Nagisa doesn’t know where Karma still stands on most of these issues. Does he hate his mother from giving him up? Hate his father for pushing his mother to that limit? Hate his twin for being the chosen one? Does he just hate them all?

(Quite frankly, the last one is the most likely of all the options.) 

So when they organized assignments for the mountain raid, and Karma automatically paired himself with Endeavor, Nagisa had concerns. When he voiced them, however, his boyfriend simply brushed him off.

“I’m the only one that can get near him because of his quirk,” he argued. “Of course I have to be the one to take him down.”

And there really wasn’t anyone else in E-class who could do the job, so Nagisa had to leave it as it was. It couldn’t be too bad, right? Just a simple takedown, strike with the tranquilizer and move on.

It was so much worse.

They worked together to get the drop on Endeavor. Nagisa swung down from a tree, amplifying the feeling of fear in the area long enough to throw Endeavor off. Once Nagisa turned off his quirk, Karma safely dropped in front of Endeavor, tranquilizer knife in hand. Despite this, the Pro-Hero stood firm, his flames burning bright.

“I was wondering when you would finally show up,” the Flame Hero growled. “It’s bad enough we have to deal with the Tentacle, much less thirty entitled assassin freaks.”

“Technically, it’s twenty-nine because Ritsu is an A.I., but good try though,” Karma corrected, and it’s completely unnecessary information other than to irritate Endeavor. It seemed to work, too.

“Damn brat. You think you’re so smart and strong, I bet, hanging around the Tentacle so much. You’re damn fools if you think you can actually stop Japan’s top heroes.”

Karma laughed. “You’re right, we’re no match for top heroes. But thankfully, All-Might isn’t here, so we’ll be fine.”

Endeavor’s angry reached a peak Nagisa didn’t even know was possible, making him physically flinch. The flames roared.

“Don’t think for a second I won’t hurt you just because you’re children,” Endeavor barked. “Right now, you’re acting criminals, which means I can do whatever I need to stop you.”

Karma laughed again. It was much more bitter, more hollow. “Oh, trust me. I’m well aware that you’re okay with harming children.”

Nagisa blinked, feeling sick to his stomach. Does that mean what he thinks it does? How...How much research has Karma done since learning the name of his birth father and twin brother?

But nonetheless, Nagisa didn’t feel so hesitant about letting loose on Endeavor knowing this. Which was why he did nothing to stop what happened next.

Endeavor roared and tried to land a fiery punch at Karma’s face. The red-haired boy easily dodged and grabbed Endeavor’s arm, throwing him to the ground. When Endeavor tried hitting him with fire, Karma didn’t even blink, the flames not affecting his body whatsoever. He very easily pinned the Pro-Hero down by sticking knives through the edges of his costume into the ground.

The Flame Hero was flabbergasted. “How in the hell—”

The chilling cool, the type that felt like no heat could exist in, came soon after, nearly extinguishing Endeavor’s flames. The terror on Endeavor’s face became even more palpable.

Karma smirked. “Oh no, looks like my quirk outmatches yours. What a turn of events, given how unpowerful or non-heroic it is — you’d probably consider me a failure, since I wouldn’t be able to beat out All-Might; but I guess that’s exactly why I can beat you.”

Endeavor’s expression became more and more indignant and his emotions more confused. He clearly didn’t get the message behind everything Karma was saying, but he was definitely freaked out by it.

“So, Mr. Flame Hero,” Karma said, reaching into his utility belt and pulling out a handful of hot sauce packets. “How’s your heat tolerance, hmm?”

Endeavor’s heat tolerance, it turned out, was quite terrible, at least when it came to dealing with wasabi up his nose. He screamed and tried to fight, but every time he moved, the knives in his costume would knick his skin, allowing small traces of tranquilizer into his bloodstream. The more he struggled, the weaker he got, but the less he struggled, the more hot sauce packets Karma brought out.

Nagisa considered interfering, wondered how much sadistic indulgence was healthy (they’ve probably long surpassed it), but in the end, he decided to let his boyfriend be. If Karma’s words were anything to go by, this man deserved to suffer a hundred times more.

-.-.-.-

Nagisa would never say this to Karma — at least not now, when the thought of his birth family is such a harsh sore in his life — but the more he learned about Todoroki Rei, the more indebted he felt to her.

Because while her methods were questionable and her mental health concerning, she got Karma out. In her own bizarre way of seeming abandonment, she protected him, and still protects him under the guise of him being dead. Nagisa knew Karma resented the fact that he was chosen to be ‘saved’ because he was second best; because his twin was stronger, because his twin was what Endeavor wanted. In Karma’s mind, he’d rather suffer to prove himself than be blatantly overlooked without a chance.

After Karma’s incident with Endeavor, after he finally tranquilized the Pro-Hero and walked away, Nagisa pulled his boyfriend in and held him tight. He tried to send his reassurance, his comfort, and it seemed that was all Karma needed. He let go of his fiery-cold facade, and he trembled in Nagisa’s hold. He didn’t cry physically, but Nagisa could feel his emotions wailing.

There’s no way to know how life would have been different if Todoroki Rei didn’t act; if the twins were raised together and they stayed a family. There was no way to know if Karma would have proved himself to be equal with his brother through other means, or if he would have spent his entire life shoved in the shadows. There’s no way to know if Karma would be anything like the strong, resolved leader he is now, or if he would have been broken down through years of probable abuse.

But there is one thing for certain. If Todoroki Rei didn’t do what she did, and give her baby away to the closest person she could find, then Akabane Karma wouldn’t be here today, in Nagisa’s arms. And for that, Nagisa is grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in Nagisa's POV for two reason:   
1.) Karma's mental state during this would be _hell_ to write and, this also gives perspective on Todoroki Rei's actions that Karma lacks  
2.) I'm lowkey contemplating writing a Karma-centric one-shot that would cover it , but if I do it'll wayyyyyyyyy in the future. Like super far out. My only concept of it is a sentence: "Karma's journey through life as the Todoroki that never was" and that's it.
> 
> I just have too many ideas, my dudes!!!


	5. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay for double updates

“1,000 yen says they’ll become official by the end of the day.”

“What? No way. Those two have been dancing circles around each other all year. We’ll be lucky if they get together before we're on our deathbeds.”

“You’re all wrong, actually,” Nakamura interrupted the circle of gossip. “I say they’ve already been dating for at least a month.”

Okajima choked on his water. “A _ month? _ Are you crazy, Nakamura? Take one too many hits in training?”

“Seriously,” Yada agreed, twirling her ponytail. “Those two are the oblivious ones here. There’s no way they’ve been dating for nearly a month and no one else has noticed.”

It was Valentine's Day, and what better way to spend time in E-class than making bets on the relationship statuses of your classmates? The betting group (which consisted of Nakamura, Okajima, Yada, Mimura, Maehara, Fuwa, Terasaka and Hazama, with Isogai acting as a mediator) was going through the potential romances of their classmates. Currently, the top bet was by Maehara, who bet 5,000 yen that Sugino would make a fool of himself when he gave Kanzaki her Valentine’s Day gift, while Fuwa bet that Midoriya would start mumbling every time he gave out one of his individualized 3-E Valentine’s Day gifts. So far, she was 12 for 12. 

(Isogai nearly fainted hearing that amount of money being thrown around, but Maehara shrugged it off. “Hey, if everything goes according to plan, we’ll be millionaires in a month anyway.”)

Nakamura scoffed at the opposition. “Oh yeah? Well, we’ll see who’s so confident by the end of the day. I bet 10,000 yen I’m right!”

The gambling group sputtered. “10,000 yen?!”

The couple they were currently betting on was none other than Nagisa and Karma, who had been a hot topic ever since the class Civil War scandal. It was an ongoing debate about when the two would finally accept their undeniable feelings for each other, but this was the first time anyone suggested they’re already together.

“Those are fighting words, Nakamura. I’ll double your bet, and say 20,000 yen that you’re wrong.”

The entire group paused — not because of the large sums of money being thrown around in gossip gambling, no — but because the voice that spoke up wasn’t anyone in on their betting table.

“Eh? Korosensei?!”

The octopus teacher hovered about his students, holding a wad of cash and grinning cynically. Isogai blinked widely, the first to recover from his shock.

“Sir? What are you doing?”

“What? You can’t go around making bets on my students’ love lives and not expect me to want to get involved!”

“Yeah, but aren’t you like, dirt poor?” Hazama asked, and the octopus instantly deflated, the money wielding tentacles drooping.

“Yeah, what are you thinking, throwing around that kind of money? Shouldn’t a teacher be advising us to make wise economic decisions?” challenged Mimura, and that was the final straw. Korosensei went completely limp, collapsing all over the table, his tentacles sprawling everywhere as he cried whined in utter defeat.

“My students don’t respect me!”

Maehara leaned over to Isogai. “Man, he’s lucky we’re not trying to assassinate him anymore, or he’d be toast right now.” The male class representative nodded thoughtfully. 

Nakamura suddenly slammed her hands down on the table, redirecting everyone’s attention. “Never mind that. If the octopus wants to bet big, let him. It’s just more money for me when I’m proven right.” 

Korosensei instantly perked back up with a wide grin. “Now that’s the spirit, students! What’s economic success without taking a few risks?”

Meanwhile, Nakamura’s classmates stared at the triumphant girl like she grew two heads. Okajima shook his head and leaned over to Mimura. “She’s lost her mind, I’m telling you.”

-.-.-.-

Per their deal, no one was allowed to interfere with Karma and Nagisa’s actions until Valentine’s Day was over. But that didn’t stop them from trying everything else. 

And the meant Detective Fuwa was on the job, determined to figure out the answer to the bet before anyone else could. While they decided that if the relationship status of Karma and Nagisa didn’t become clear by the end of the day that they would just ask, Fuwa wanted to know first. She had to. And she was going to do everything in her power to make sure she was right.

She always felt blessed with her quirk. Sure, it wasn’t flashy in of itself, but paired with a fervent personality like Fuwa, and it's like she was straight from a detective show.

(In all honesty, there should be a detective show created after her. But that’s beside the point.)

Deep-rooted in her obsession with mystery-solving, Fuwa was going to Sherlock the shit out of this conspiracy. And since she couldn’t go to the source itself, she went to the next best thing.

“I-I swear I do-don’t know anything, Fuwa.”

You see, while it may not be proven fact, Fuwa’s pretty sure she has a secondary quirk that lets her know when someone is lying. And Midoriya Izuku right now is a bare-faced liar.

She cornered him outside the classroom, and the green-haired boy refused to make eye contact and was blushing a storm after Fuwa asked if Karma and Nagisa were dating or not.

“You’re lying,” she bluntly informed him, and Midoriya flinched. 

“Huh?! N-N-No I’m nuh-not!” he sputtered before frantically looking around, screeching “Hey, look, it’s Okuda! I, um, gotta go talk about science!” and sprinting away to where Okuda definitely wasn’t standing.

A liar.

-.-.-.-

“Hey, Shinsou. You’re pretty close to Karma, right?”

Shinsou very slowly, very cautiously looked up from his phone to find Maehara and Yada staring down at him, looking way too mischievous to be trusted. Immediately, he felt himself go on edge, mentally looking for exit strategies for whatever...this was about to become.

“Sure?” he responded with the utmost uncertainty. His unease only intensified when Maehara and Yada looked at each other and grinned. “Should I be concerned?”

Yada waved him off nonchalantly. “Oh, no, no need to be dramatic. We were just wondering from one honeypot to another if you knew if he was single or not.”

It happened subtly, expertly so no one would recognize she did it — tilting her head to the side in a seemingly curious gesture so her bangs perfectly covered her gleaming eyes. Unfortunately for Yada, Shinsou not only was unfazed by her quirk, but was also there when Bitch-sensei taught this trick to her. 

Shinsou sighed. “That’s not going to work on me, Yada. And don’t even bother, Maehara.” The other boy stopped dead in his tracks. “Now, why the hell do you want to know if Karma of all people is single?”

“Just curious!” Yada squeaked at the same time Maehara choked out, “We want to try seducing him!”

Needless to say, it was a very awkward thirty seconds that followed.

“Wh-What we’re trying to say is, that, um, Karma is clearly the hardest person in class to seduce, but we were, uh, just curious if he was seeing anyone because we wouldn’t want to step on anybody’s toes, you know,” Maehara backtracked, scratching the back of his neck while Yada mindlessly nodded along.

“Since when has that ever stopped either one of you?” Shinsou muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Hey!”

“C’mon, Shinsou, we just want to know!” Yada begged.

The brainwasher scoffed. “Yeah, no way—”

“Hey, why are you guys meeting without me?!” Bitch-sensei burst out of nowhere, inserting herself and her oversized breasts into the conversation. “You shouldn’t meet without your mentor; what if you spread bad techniques to one another and I’m not there to correct it?”

“I’m pretty sure all of your techniques are bad,” Shinsou mumbled. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite enough, nor was he fast enough to stop Bitch-sensei’s razor-sharp claws from grabbing his hair and yanking.

“What was that, you ungrateful little pest?!”

-.-.-.-

“There’s no way they’re together. I mean, just look at them!” Terasaka grumbled, leaning lazily against the tree branch. “Totally oblivious.”

“Like you have any room to speak, Fur-For-Brains,” Hazama muttered, slamming her binoculars on Terasaka’s head. “And keep your voice down! You’re gonna get us caught.”

As for the rest betting group, they decided to stalk the duo in question all day, trying to see anything that may confirm either theory. And so far, they’ve seen...virtually nothing.

All Karma and Nagisa did was walk around and talk or train or study or do anything and everything that both friends and couples could casually do, as Nakamura repeatedly defended.

“But it’s Valentine’s Day, for crying out loud. Don’t you think there’d be a hint of PDA to celebrate? Or at least sitting so they're touching, or holding hands, or anything remotely romantic?” Maehara argued.

“Right you are, my boy!” Korosensei, colored green to blend in with the leaves, declared. “No one can resist the urges of love on a day like today!”

“You clearly don’t know Karma,” Okajima muttered. “He doesn’t operate like a normal human.”

Terasaka growled. “Which side are you even on, Pervert?”

“Everyone shut up!” Hazama hissed, pointing fervently. “Look!”

The group spun around just in time to see Karma lean in and whisper in Nagisa’s ear. Whatever he said instantly made Nagisa’s face turn bright red, and everyone’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“See, I told you!” hissed Nakamura, pumping her fists. “You better pay up, Korosensei.”

Their teacher sputtered. “What?! That’s hardly any confirmation of a relationship. All they did was whisper to each other!”

“Then how come every time we so much as step near someone else, you instantly start taking pictures for the ‘Ship’ pages of the yearbook?” Isogai questioned.

“Eh…”

Yada suddenly started flailing. “Oh my god, they’re hugging!”

Sure enough, Karma had leaned in and wrapped his arm around Nagisa for a short second before the two walked away out of sight. Instantly, smoke started coming out of Korosensei’s ears as the man literally deflating while Nakamura cheered.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Mimura said, triggering his quirk projection back to that moment. “What is Karma holding…?”

The group gathered around while Mimura zoomed in on the recording right at the moment they hugged. Sure enough, there appeared to be a small white object in Karma’s hand.

“Maybe it’s just a phone?” suggested Fuwa, gnawing her lip. Mimura continued to zoom in until they could clearly see the object — which they realized was a sheet of paper. A sheet of paper that read:

** _If you keep stalking us, I _ ** ** _will_ ** ** _ make you regret it._ **

Mimura jolted and blinked, ending the projection, while everyone else shifted uncomfortably or hid their binoculars. Korosensei silently passed over 20,000 yen to Nakamura.

“Well,” Maehara huffed. “That answers that question.”

Bonus:

“Karma, is everything okay? You’re acting weird.”

The red-haired boy smirked, leading Nagisa away by having one hand on the small of his back. His other hand was hidden behind his back as it heated the crumpled piece in his palm until it began to smoke from intense heat. 

“What do you mean?” he asked innocently. Nagisa, never one to be fooled, raised an eyebrow challengingly.

“I can feel your emotions, Karma. I know when you’re up to something.”

A month ago, this comment would have been a punch in the gut, a growing fungus on his heart. The thought of Nagisa knowing how he’s feeling and possibly controlling it bothered him deeper than anything from his childhood. It made his want to fight, to push back, to ensure control.

But now — now he almost welcomed it. He never had to worry about misleading Nagisa, or keeping secrets, or struggling to express himself because Nagisa didn’t just know, but he _ understood. _

Karma chuckled. “You’ve got me there.” Dropping the burnt, crumpled note, Karma reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thin, neatly packaged box. “Who knew it’d be so hard to hide even the little things from you.”

The glance of skepticism made it clear that he didn’t fully buy Karma’s explanation, but he was too shocked by the gift to question. Slowly, stunned silent, Nagisa pulled off the paper and stared at the gift inside.

“Karma.”

“Hmm?”

“These are scissors.”

“Yup.”

“Why did you buy me scissors?”

“Because,” Karma said, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand. “The year is almost up, which means you can finally cut your hair. It’s been your plan for a long time, after all.”

Nagisa went silent for a long time, staring at the gift, and for a moment Karma actually began to worry (a feeling he wasn’t well acquainted with). But then Nagisa, likely feeling the concern too, squeezed Karma’s hand and a warm, grateful, passionate feeling enveloped Karma.

“Thank you,” Nagisa said, and Karma knew he meant it. 

But he couldn’t help himself.

“What, no gift for me?” he sarcastically pouted. “I thought the purpose of this holiday was to throw your money at corporations in efforts to materialistically prove your feelings?”

Nagisa snorted, but he leaned up to his tiptoes to kiss Karma on the cheek. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOLOLOLOLOL I'M TOO EMOTIONALLY INCOMPETENT TO WRITE ROMANCE. THIS IS WHY I AVOID IT FOLKS. CRINGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
> 
> also, update with the sequel: I just finished writing the sports festival arc, and while it was super fun to write, this next fic is gonna be a big boi. I'm trying to cut back butttttt I'm really bad at doing that. I feel like every time I reread chapters to cut things out, I end up writing more scenes because I have a big brain.


	6. Isogai and Maehara

“Wow, Isogai, your quirk is so cool! You could totally get accepted into a fancy hero school like U.A. — too bad your family can’t afford it!”

Even from a young age, Isogai Yuuma was well acquainted with the concept of poverty. He’s experienced a varying scale of poverty, from living paycheck to paycheck to near homelessness. Perhaps the first thing he really learned about himself was that he was poor. It seemed to be a very important fact to everyone else, at least.

“Better than being rich with a lame quirk like you, Satori!”

And around the same time he learned he was poor, Isogai discovered one other truth — Maehara Hiroto was the best friend he could ever ask for.

-.-.-.-

When Isogai discovered his quirk, he Merged his little sister’s shirt to a chair.

It was dinnertime, and his mother, who had been oddly tired these days (they would later learn of the terminal illness causing this), was too exhausted to join them. Their father was working overtime to pay the bills, which meant Isogai was in charge of his siblings. His brother, Yuuta, was just an infant at the time and his sister, Yumiko, embodied everything a terrorizing two-year-old could.

That night, she was refusing to stay seated, instead deciding she wanted to jump on everything she could — the table, her chair, Isogai’s chair. Her rowdiness was bothering Yuuta, and if he started crying it could wake up their mother, and even at four years old, Isogai knew that was a bad thing.

“Yumiko, stop it!” Isogai begged for the sixth time that night, and the toddler stuck her tongue out at him.

“No no no!”

Because one ‘no’ isn’t enough for an angry toddler.

Unfortunately, Isogai was quickly becoming a very irritated child himself, and in a desperate attempt to resort order, he grabbed the back of his sister’s shirt and pulled it so she was pinned against her chair.

“Stay put!”

And to his surprise, she did, not jumping up immediately like he expected. Then she wiggled and unsuccessfully tried to lean forward.

And then she started crying.

(Which made Yuuta cry. Which made their mom wake up.)

-.-.-.-

His quirk was determined to be a mutation, seeing that his mother could make flowers bloom by touch and his father could produce ink messages on his skin. They called it Merge — the ability to fuse and merge two inanimate objects together, and only inanimate objects, which they determined with some testing after his father horrifyingly asked the doctor, “Could he have merged his sister’s body to the chair if he wasn’t careful?”

They also learned back at the house when they were trying to un-stick his sister’s shirt from the chair that whatever is merged, cannot be reversed. Which means while his quirk is powerful, it also has even more powerful consequences if he’s not careful.

“His quirk is very strong and unique,” the specialist said. “You should be very proud!”

It was the first of many compliments he would receive about his quirk. It was also one of the few times his poverty wasn’t mentioned with it.

-.-.-.-

Despite how annoying the comments would get, his quirk was undeniably useful — especially when you grow up in poverty and can’t afford to replace things when they break. Nearly all the furniture in the house was repaired through Merging.

“You’ll have a bright future as a handyman, Yuuma,” his father would tease. Isogai was just happy he could be useful.

Through this, he began to greater understand the limitations and abilities of his quirk at a very young age. And always being a history buff, he loved to learn about the ancient magic of alchemy and liked to pretend he was a modern-day alchemist. And while he couldn’t make gold out of things, his quirk was heavily reliant on the idea of ‘equivalent exchange.’ Like an alchemist, he couldn’t make something out of nothing. He could only use what he had in his hands.

Once, his sister shattered a vase and begged him to fix it, but when he did it was noticeably skinnier and shorter because so many pieces of the vase were shattered so small they couldn’t be used to Merge. He didn’t have the same amount of object as it originally existed.

He could, however, affect the shape of what he was Merging together, which was a real relief. It wasn’t just putting two or more things together and hoping for the best; he had to visualize his end result, and if he concentrated hard enough, that’s roughly what the object would Merge into.

And yes, as a child with a quirk like this, it meant he got very creative with his Merge creations.

(This is also why, when the leg of their kitchen table snapped in half, there was a tennis ball in the middle acting as additional length so the table laid even. Because seven-year-old Isogai didn’t fully understand that he could make the leg skinnier and longer to give it the correct length.)

-.-.-.-

For a short period of time in his life, Isogai heavily considered going into hero support.

It was his first year at Kunugigaoka Junior High, and his homeroom teacher kept talking about how he’d “excel in that field, you’d definitely get into U.A., you’ll make the school proud if you do.”

(In the long run, he’s grateful he dropped that plan. Not only did he get moved down to 3-E two years later, therefore making him incapable of making the school proud, but he also really, really has no desire to attend U.A. He’ll leave that to Shinsou and Midoriya.)

But during this time period, he decided he’d give it a try, and accepted an offer to attend a special hero support conference — it was paid for, so why would he say no? — with some other Kunugigaoka students.

It was here that he met one Hastume Mei, and was terrified enough to drop hero support forever.

He was sitting in a workshop, sketching designs for the invention he was planning on submitting for competition when she approached him. And by approached him, he means jumping up out of nowhere and interrogating him. 

“You’re Isogai Yuuma, aren’t you?” the pink-haired girl asked, instantly shoving her way into his personal space. “The prodigious inventor with the perfect support quirk?”

“H-Huh?” Prodigious? He just started, how was he prodigious?

“Good looks, great quirk, intelligent enough to attend a top middle school — I bet agencies are tripping over their feet to recruit you.”

The things she was saying should be compliments, but Hatsume somehow made them sound like threats. “I’m sorry?”

“I bet you have a really good idea for the design competition, huh?” Hatsume challenged, and Isogai took a step back, covering his sketches.

“Um, I’m working on it, I guess. I don’t really have anything solid, if you’re wanting to look at it right now.”

Hatsume cocked her head. “Oh, I don’t want to see it. I just want you to know that my baby will definitely beat yours.”

Isogai was so freaked out he didn’t submit anything, Hatsume ended up winning the competition, and Isogai never thought about hero support again.

Maehara laughed when he heard about what happened, teasing him about how he got scared off by a girl.

“At least girls approach me first,” Isogai bluntly responded, and while Maehara wailed and lamented his plight, it had no real bite. They knew each other too well for that.

-.-.-.-

“Oh, what a handsome face you have, young man. It’s nothing like your brother.”

Maehara Hiroto, as everyone told him throughout his life, had nothing in common with his older brother. His brother’s face is too forgettable, they’d say. 

“Well of course it is,” he’d say, like it was normal. And then the people would laugh and say he was so bold for a kid. Maehara didn’t understand any of it until he was older. After all, of course young Maehara knew his brother had a forgettable face — that was his quirk, after all. If someone looks him in the eye, they immediately forget his face. It’s an unfortunate quirk, everyone would say, not being able to be remembered. Yes, it’s quite unfortunate.

Unless you want to go into crime.

The Faceless Bandit. That’s what the police called him when they arrested him. And elusive robber, he successfully robbed over fifteen banks and jewelry stores by the time he got caught. It wasn’t until some underground hero with the ability to erase quirks spotted him leaving the scene of a crime and remembered his face. The next day, the police showed up at the Maehara household.

When he was arrested, his mother turned to him in tears and said, “You must be nothing like your brother, Hiroto. Nothing.”

Maehara, only six-years-old at the time, didn’t understand what the fuss was all about. Of course he wouldn’t be like his brother. Why would anyone think that?

But then, in his fourth year at elementary school, his classmates somehow found out about his brother and his quirk. 

“Isn’t your quirk the same as his?” a classmate asked, and Maehara panicked.

“No. It’s not.”

“But it’s similar,” another pointed out. “You can make people forget too.”

Maehara snapped. “I said I’m nothing like him!”

And he was adamant about it for the rest of his time in that class, snapping at anyone who dared to suggest he was anything like his brother. Because he wasn’t. He couldn’t be.

And then, in his fifth year, he met Isogia Yuuma.

-.-.-.-

“Hey, you’re Maehara Hiroto, right?” asked the dark-haired boy in the desk next to his. “People talk about you.”

Maehara, already feeling defensive, scoffed. “All good things, I bet.”

The dark-haired boy held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t mean it offensively. People talk about me too.” The boy smiled sadly. “I’m Isogai Yuuma.”

Maehara blinked. People did, in fact, talk about Isogai Yuuma quite often. Usually, it was the girls talking about how cute he was or how princely he seemed (something that made Maehara quite bitter), but there were also times where they’d talk about a lot more...personal gossip surrounding the Prince Charming. About his quirk. About his family and their money.

And as someone who was usually gossiped about in similar ways (except replace money with criminal behavior), Maehara instantly let his guard down because if anyone understood what it was like, it was Isogai.

“All good things, right?” Maehara asked sarcastically, but he smiled back. Isogai blinked and laughed.

“You would know.”

-.-.-.-

From there, Maehara and Isogai became closer than best friends — they became brothers. They were on a first-name basis with each other’s family; they would constantly be at each other’s houses; Isogai knew all about Maehara’s brother and how his family was (poorly) coping with it; Maehara was well aware of Isogai’s poverty and his mother’s illness. Often times, Maehara would even help take care of his mother.

But perhaps the defining moment in their friendship was when Isogai’s father passed away at the end of elementary school.

He had a heart attack. It was unexpected, the doctors said, and he was seemingly healthy beforehand. Maehara’s family helped pay for the funeral services and housed the family as they grieved. 

Maehara’s aunt also set Isogai up with his first job: cleaning her work office.

Maehara had a bit of an issue with this one.

“Auntie, are you crazy? He’s eleven, he can’t work!” Maehara hissed. Isogai was in the other room playing with his younger siblings, but this argument needed to be had.

“I know, Hiroto, but his family needs the money, and his mother is too ill right now to take on employment,” his aunt responded cooly, not even looking up from her laptop.

“If you’re paying him, can’t we just give his family the money they need then?” Maehara argued.

“Your parents have been kind enough to give charity to them, Hiroto. It’s unhealthy for people to rely on others and not do work for themselves.”

“But we’re going to Kunugigaoka next year! They don’t allow students to have jobs!”

His aunt sighed and took a sip of her tea. “He’s not even officially employed. Think of it as...chores with an allowance.”

Maehara could barely believe his ears. “Wow...you’re really just a money-obsessed bitch, you know that?”

His aunt slammed her mug on the table. “Excuse me?!”

Maehara met her eyes, and immediately ripped out her memory of their conversation. Her face went blank, confused, but before she could piece together what happened, Maehara was already gone.

-.-.-.-

While most people (that is to say, everyone except Isogai, and later on, E-class) don’t know this, but Maehara has a bit more control of his ‘Thought-Blocking’ than people assume. From a basic understanding, if someone looked him in the eye, he could make them forget whatever was on their mind at the time. And while he could do that, he could also go a little deeper and make them forget anything in recent memory.

His guesstimated time limit was anything that happened in the past five minutes. And most times, people he wiped had no idea it ever happened; their brain just resets to whatever thought proceeded what Maehara erased.

He was a walking conversation undo button, Isogai would say. 

(You would think that’d make him better at talking with girls, Nakamura would say.)

-.-.-.-

Isogai and Maehara ended up in E-class for very different reasons.

Isogai’s descent was well-known: he got reported for having a job, and as punishment, he was immediately transferred to 3-E.

Maehara’s reasoning was a bit more secretive.

The running theory in class was that Maehara purposely followed Isogai to E-class by letting his grades drop. Because as stupid as he liked to come off, it was no secret that Maehara tended to play a Nakamura card when it comes to intelligence. He may not be as smart as the blonde girl, but he was far from stupid, and his grades would never drop that low unless he let them.

In reality, it was because his old classmates (somehow) found out about his brother again. And since his quirk was similar to his brother’s, his classmates complained to administration. Within a week, Maehara was moved down to 3-E for ‘quirk inadequacy’ — Kunugigaoka’s favorite cop-out for sending students to that class.

He didn’t tell anyone about this for months, and when he finally did during their boat ride to their assassination island vacation, most of his classmates didn’t even believe him.

“What? There’s no way you got sent to E-class for quirk inadequacy!” Sugino challenged.

“I understand people like me or Midoriya not meeting Kunugigaoka’s standards, but not you,” reasoned Takebayashi.

“Yeah, your quirk is right up Principal Creep’s alley. Why would he move you down?” Okano asked, and Maehara shrugged.

“My brother…” He took a deep breath and eyed his classmates. He had to remind himself that E-class was different, and they wouldn't judge him or report him like his old classmates. “My brother is a criminal. A villain. His quirk is sort of similar to mine, except he could just make people forget his face. A lot of people get freaked out knowing our quirks are so similar and I guess that’s enough to transfer you to 3-E.”

There was silence for a long time, E-class showing varying degrees of shock and sadness. Everyone knew the pain of initially being moved down, but it was still shocking to hear the reasons for it. Shinsou was the first one to speak up.

“They moved me down for similar reasons,” he supplied. “Everyone until now always said I have a villain quirk, which is why I tried to keep it a secret for so long. And the moment someone learned about it, I was moved down.”

Maehara smiled sadly at his fellow honeypot trainee and for the billionth time expressed his gratefulness for E-class. Because somehow, they always understand what it's like. They know what you're going through because they've gone through it too.

“I’m happy you feel comfortable sharing this with us,” Korosensei said, wrapping a tentacle around his shoulder. “And no matter the reasoning, I’m so grateful you are in this class. And I mean this for all of you.”

Maehara’s heart plummeted, and not for the last time he wondered how on Earth he could ever kill Korosensei. But as quickly as the thought came, he pushed it to the back of the mind as if he was Blocking it. They had a mission. They had a billion yen on the line (money that could save Isogai’s family). He couldn’t let any developing attachment get in the way.

“Yeah,” he agreed, pulling out his knife and swiping away Korosensei’s tentacles and his emotions. “Too bad you won’t be in it much longer!”

But unfortunately for Maehara, that thought never does go away. His quirk doesn’t work on himself, and he can never force himself to forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys want more of these character close ups? If so, who should I do next?


	7. The Adventures of the Fathers: Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently posting this from an airport in Mexico and haven't had much time to edit it, so I'm sorry if there are issues, whoops!

When they first met, they hated each other.

Shinsou Toshio moved to Tokyo when he started middle school; before then, he grew up in Canada. It was hard moving overseas and leaving his friends, especially during the awkward pre-teen period of his life, but it was even harder to adapt to the new culture. His parents raised him speaking Japanese, and they thought he would be fine in a normal middle school instead of an international one. 

Spoiler alert. He wasn’t.

Because while he knew Japanese, he was formally taught in English and French his entire life. Which meant he was utterly clueless on his first day of school. He didn’t understand any of the technical terms the teacher was using, he  _ definitely _ didn’t understand the differences between the three Japanese alphabets, much less how to write efficiently in any of them. 

“Your writing and reading scores are on par with eight-year-olds,” his teacher informed him after class. “I understand this is difficult for you, but if you don’t improve your language skills within a month, we’re going to have to move you down.”

And that frustrated Toshio. Because he was smart — he made the top class in this damn school when he tested in, even if his test was proctored largely in English. He deserved to be here.

He walked out of the class, angry and embarrassed, and that’s when he met Asano Gakuhou. 

He had heard about Asano Gakuhou beforehand by the nice girl that gave him a tour; even though Asano was only a first year, he was the most popular kid in school. Even upperclassmen listened to him. She gushed about him like he was royalty.

“Hey, eyebags, they pushing you back to elementary school?” Gakuhou mocked from across the courtyard. He was surrounded by people, but it was clear they weren’t friends, weren’t equals. Just dutiful followers to the self-appointed king of the school, who of course laughed at his comments.

Toshio scowled and wanted to fight back, spiteful words on the tip of his tongue. But then they made eye contact, and it felt like someone was climbing through Toshio’s brain, just claiming whatever information they wanted. Fear running through him, he mentally locked up his most protected secrets. Gakuhou frowned slightly, but he didn’t push again.

“You’re kidding,” Gakuhou smirked, and Toshio feared for the worst. “They’ve already threatened to move you down? Pathetic.”

The crowd laughed, and Toshio cast his eyes to the floor, embarrassed. His fists were clenched, and he wanted to fight, to defend himself, but what was the point? He was outnumbered. Asano Gakuhou clearly held all the cards.

But the game wasn’t over yet. It had only just begun.

-.-.-.-

Toshio’s quirk was a curse most days — just because he didn’t need to sleep doesn’t mean he couldn’t feel tired, so his life was constant hell. But right now, his quirk was exactly the blessing he needed.

He threw himself into his studies — he went in for office hour help, signed up for cram school, and rented almost every book from the local library. He read and he wrote and he learned every spare moment he had, not even pausing for lunch. He had a month to not only master a language, but come midterm exams, he planned on coming out on top.

“Much improved, Shinsou. You got the second-highest score in the class,” his teacher praised, handing back their essays three weeks into the semester. Toshio smiled and pointedly looked back, meeting Gakuhou’s glare.

The day before midterms, Gakuhou cornered him after school. “How are you doing it?” he demanded. “Paying the teachers to boost your scores or something?”

Toshio laughed. “Hardly. It’s called studying, in case you haven’t heard.”

“You’re lying. No one’s score could improve that much just by studying.”

“Am I?” Toshio challenged, looking Gakuhou right in the eye. He didn’t know his quirk, but he had his suspicions. “Go on, check for yourself.”

The probing feeling returned and Gakuhou scowled, pushing Toshio away. “I’m still going to beat you, eyebags.”

He did, but it was close, just three points separating their scores. Toshio turned back to Gakuhou again.

“I’m going to beat you next time,” he declared. Gakuhou blinked, but instead of scowling like usual, he just smirked.

“A futile goal,” he drawled.

And that’s how it all started. Gakuhou managed to come out on top after end-of-term exams, but this time by only one point. By next midterms, Toshio finally succeeded, beating Gakuhou by one point. At the end of the year, they tied by both earning a perfect score on their finals.

“This is stupid. If we average it out over the year, I would come out on top,” Gakuhou grumbled, eyeing the final rankings.

“Yeah, but I still beat you out once, which you said was impossible,” argued Toshio, elbowing the other boy (his friend? Were they friends now?) playfully. Gakuhou’s scowl returned.

“A singular anomaly in what will be my ultimate and irrefutable victory by graduation.”

Toshio snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.” 

-.-.-.-

It went on like that for the next two years. Hitoshi winning some, Gakuhou winning most, with the occasional tie thrown in there. But even with this endless academic rivalry, the two only grew closer. They frequented each other’s houses, usually to study and work on homework, but sometimes to just hang out. Gakuhou would bring Toshio his homework if his biannual sleep collapse happened during school. Toshio would carry extra energy drinks for the nights where Gakuhou refused to stop studying and go to bed.

By the time third year rolled around and entrance exams were coming up, they both came to a silent agreement that they’d be going to the same school. There’s no point in having an academic rival if you’re not even taking the same tests.

“What about U.A. High School? They’re most famous for their hero course, but their general education course is nationally ranked as well,” Toshio reasoned. Gakuhou crinkled his nose.

“And spend your whole life being downgraded for not being a hero student? I’ll pass.”

Toshio frowned at the flippant reply. “Well, why not go for the hero course, then? I bet it’s still academically rigorous.”

Gakuhou laughed. “Us? In hero courses? I don’t know what kind of heroes you’re hearing about, but I’m pretty sure you can’t fight someone with insomnia or personal facts. No, I’ll never be a hero.”

Toshio huffed, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Well, what do you want to be then? We can try to pick a school that specializes in that or something.”

It was a conversation they didn’t have often, not after their second year. Toshio always knew he wanted to go into neuroscience; the field called to him, and he was endlessly fascinated with the work and studies that went into it, especially since the emergence of quirks. He loved studying how brain compositions differed from people with mental or physical quirks.

Gakuhou, however, was lost, and there was nothing that made him angrier. Gakuhou liked knowing everything about people, so the fact that he couldn’t turn his quirk on himself frustrated him to no end (and resulted in him staring in a lot of mirrors trying to overcome this). His parents wanted him to take share in the family business, but since he wasn’t the company heir, Gakuhou wanted no part of it. He felt lost, with no passion to guide him.

(Well, no passion he was willing to admit to. He’s seen Gakuhou tutoring others and experienced studying with him; deep down, under his arrogant and cool facade, he had a passion for teaching. But teaching was no profession for an Asano.)

-.-.-.-

In high school, they met Hayashida Asami. She was blonde, pretty, introverted and sat in the back of their class, and she beat them both in their first-year midterms.

“What? This isn’t allowed,” Gakuhou breathed, still in shock when the rankings went up. Toshio couldn’t help but cackle.

“Guess we have another academic rival on our hands.”

And, just like how it worked between Gakuhou and Toshio, Asami slowly incorporated her way into their friend group. Despite her initial shyness, she revealed herself to be brutally honest and stubborn, with an intolerance for whininess, as the boys quickly learned. Anytime they even started to complain about something (usually grades), Asami would be there, smacking the back of their heads.

“What are you complaining about? Don’t you know how much worse you could have it? I’ll give you something to complain about!”

But for all her crudeness, Asami was very kind, and had a particular passion for helping others. Her quirk, Comfort, let her emotionally calm anyone she touched. She was a frequent volunteer at the local hospitals and homeless shelters, and she often dragged the two boys along with her.

“None of these kids can afford your fancy cram schools, so it’s only fair you help them!” she declared, forcing them to act as tutors for the kids at the shelters.

Gakuhou dragged his feet the entire way. “I really don’t see why this is my responsibil — OUCH! Asami, what the hell, that hurt!”

But for all his complaining, it was obvious Gakuhou loved tutoring the students there just as much as they loved him. Every time he came, they’d flock to him, begging for help on homework or advice or just to talk about their day.

“This is no fair, you’re clearly the favorite,” Toshio pouted one day after the duo left the shelter to head to late-night cram school. Asami usually stayed at the shelter, seeing cram schools as a useless privilege. Toshio was just jealous she could get such good grades without it.

Gakuhou, however, seemed to be in a different world. “Cram schools really aren’t fair, huh?”

“Huh?”

“Cram schools. It’s not fair how students are expected to pay extra to succeed in school. Shouldn’t schools just prepare them enough for that? And why are the schools always so expensive?”

Toshio blinked. “Uh, dude, you okay? You’re starting to sound just like Asami and it’s freaking me out.”

Gakuhou sighed and stopped, kicking angrily at the floor. His purple eyes blazed. “I know, it’s just — those kids would have nothing if we didn’t come in, and that’s not fair. They’re plenty capable and strong if they just get a little help. I...I just wish it was different.”

There was a long, silent pause. Toshio eyed his best friend skeptically, not used to seeing this side of him; a side of vulnerability, longing, passion.

“Well, then do something about it.”

Gakuhou jolted, looking back up. “What?”

Toshio smirked. “If you don’t like the system, then change it yourself. Isn’t that your favorite thing to do?”

And while his arrogant facade returned, that passion didn’t leave Gakuhou’s eyes. “Yeah. I suppose it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinsou’s father is the reason Kunugigaoka existed and that’s canon now. Also, Hayashida “Check Your Privilege” Asami, in this world, is Asano Gakuhou’s future wife.


	8. Weakness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Yukimura-sensei's story. It's super sad. I'm sorry.

In a weird way, Yukimura Aguri thought her quirk was oddly fitting, even if no one else agreed.

_ Weakness _ , they called it.  _ She could see another person’s greatest weakness. _

_ What do you do with a quirk like that, _ her mother would ask the counselors, crying.  _ Could she hurt people? Will she become a villain? _

Because as much as quirks make the hero, they also make the villain. At least, that’s what the world thinks.

Yukimura didn’t understand how anyone thought she could ever become a villain. You see, the reason she saw her quirk as fitting was because it’s exactly what she was — weak. She couldn't fight back against her mother’s claims, or stop her family from distancing her. She couldn't defend herself when lovers and friends alike left her after learning what she could do. 

She didn’t even bother fighting when her family arranged a marriage between her and Yanagisawa, even though she knew the man’s interests in her were far from pure.

Weakness was what she was. It was all she could do. 

Well, that, and teach.

-.-.-.-

She always wanted to be an educator. She never had a teacher growing up that trusted and cared for her, so she decided to become her own. Her family told her it was a waste of time, that no one would ever hire her.

But then she interviewed for Kunugigaoka Junior High.

“Weakness, huh? How...intriguing,” Principal Asano drawled the moment she walked in and he looked at her paperwork. It threw her off, having her quirk brought up right away. She spent the rest of the interview trying not to cry.

But somehow, she got a job teaching for Class 3-E. And it was here that she learned the true strength of her quirk.

-.-.-.-

Every night after class, Yukimura went home and worked on her plans for addressing her students' weaknesses. It’s the hardest part of her day by far, because every student was so unique in their united struggles.

Sugino struggles with comparing himself to others. He aspires to his idols so heavily, he changes himself to be just like them.

Okuda believes she’s useless — a weak quirk she can’t even use properly, constantly mixing up chemicals and improperly interpreting compounds. And instead of addressing it, trying to get better, she just accepts it as her fate and lets herself flounder. 

Terasaka’s weakness is, very fittingly, pride. He doesn’t like being below people, so when he is, he tries to drag them down. He doesn’t like wasting his time with anyone who isn’t like him, nor anyone who might challenge his authority in any way.

She’s never seen such a large inferiority complex until she met Nagisa. He doesn’t believe himself capable of really anything, and because of this, he doesn’t fully try for anything. He never quite pushes his limits, and instead just tries to fade into the background.

Nakamura fears failure so much, she prefers to set a low standard and create a harmful image of herself just so she can never seem like a let-down. She doesn’t seem to understand that by doing this, she’s letting herself and her immense capabilities down.

Karma feels the need to protect anything he cares about, to the point of violence. His coping methods are unhealthy, causing him to hate anything that threatens him or anyone he cares about. He doesn’t like he bested, he can’t stand being challenged, and he doesn’t tolerate others hurting him or his friends. He’s also very, very angry.

Shinsou thinks he’s cursed, and that nothing in life will ever go his way. Whenever another problem arises, instead of facing it, he accepts it and moves on, hoping things will get better without making any effort to change his circumstances.

And then there’s Midoriya, who is quirkless. It hurt her when she looked upon her newest student and saw that branding, as if the universe supported the idea that quirkless people were nothing. She told herself that it must just be what Midoriya thinks of himself, and that’s why it’s his greatest weakness — he let it limit everything he did.

Okajima believes he’s confined to his current abilities. Sugaya, for all his artistic talent, doesn’t let himself have a creative vision. Yada lets her envy of others hurt her image of herself. Isogai feels the need to carry everyone else’s burdens. Maehara resorts to shallow actions to hide his true feelings. Fuwa doubts her importance. Yoshida wonders if he’s more machine than human. Chiba fears he’ll see too much. Hayami pushes away anything new, worried that what is being introduced will mess up the balance in life she's set. 

So many different weaknesses, so many different ways the universe has set these children back in life. There was no favoritism in the world for her students, which meant it was up to her to save them.

-.-.-.-

Yukimura always knew Yanagisawa only wanted to marry her for her quirk. So when he put her in charge of monitoring his latest experiment — the deadliest man alive — she wasn’t terribly shocked.

She was shocked, however, when she met the dangerous experiment and saw what his greatest weakness was, branded above him in letters only she could see.

At first, she thought it was mistaken. That couldn’t be a weakness, right? That should be a strength; the greatest asset someone could ever have. Why would it be this man’s greatest weakness?

But then she remembered who she was looking at — a master assassin with thousands of victims, and it made a lot more sense. In the world of assassination, feeling love was perhaps the greatest weakness of them all.

But it certainly made her look at this man — the Reaper, they called him — in a different way. Because if it was his biggest weakness, then that meant that under that emotionless facade, this man had the ability to love.

“What is it? What is his biggest weakness?” Yanagisawa asked her after she met the Reaper. He stared at Yukimura, eyebrow raised, challenging her to say it.

“Arrogance,” she lied. The mystery man’s eyebrows arched higher. 

-.-.-.-

During their time together, Yukimura felt this man’s ability to love, and she felt it right back. But at the same time, she feared.

Because his ability to love was still his greatest weakness, even though he was no longer an assassin. And it made her wonder, what was keeping it the same? She watched as he changed, his body adapting, getting stronger with every quirk forced into his body, as his physical composition became more anti-matter than human. His weakness, it seemed, was the only thing that wouldn’t change.

Which is why, when the Reaper broke out of his cage and began his rampage, Yukimura tried to save him. Because even in this new form, this overpowered beast, he could still love. And that meant he was worth saving.

“Why?” he asked, cradling her body after the spear went through her torso. It should hurt, she noted, but for some reason, she just felt numb. At least this meant she wouldn’t die in pain, she supposed.

“Because I saw it,” she whispered. “Your weakness. You can still love.”

The Reaper flinched back, and Yukimura continued. “My students...please turn your love towards them. They need someone, someone like you to show them the way. Their weaknesses, they can overcome them, I know it. Please do what I could never do for them.”

The tentacles form shook his head. “How could I? I’m a monster, Aguri. I cannot love.”

“No…” she breathed. “You can, and it’s what makes you so strong. Turn...turn your weakness into your strength. Help them...help them do the same; it’s why I became a teacher. Because….I’m weak, but I know...others are too, and anyone can...can become...”

She couldn’t finish what she was saying, but he understood. And with her dying wish on her tongue and her body in the arms of the man she loved, Yukimura Aguri died. The vision of her students' future would be her final thoughts, and the man who would make those visions a reality was the last thing she ever saw. 

-.-.-.-

“Tell me, Yukimura-san. Can you see your own weakness?”

Yukimura looked up at the Reaper in surprise before smiling and laughing. “No, I can’t. My quirk doesn’t work through mirrors or cameras, just in person.”

Besides, she didn’t need to. She knew that every bit of her was weak, so it didn’t matter which was her greatest. All that mattered was helping others with her one strength — teaching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY THIS CHAPTER CAME EARLY BUT IT'S BECAUSE I NEED YALL'S INPUT PLEASE READ THIS:
> 
> For the sequel, I'm currently writing out the Hero Killer arc and I'm sTrUgGLiNg bc I keep going back and forth on how Stain would view E-class. I just want some input on my thought process.
> 
> So, here's my thoughts. Stain hates heroes because he seems them as false and unworthy (except for All-Might). On one hand, he'd hate E-class — they (originally) trained to kill Korosensei for the money, assassins only accept work for their own gain. On the other hand, assassins don't do their work to be loved by society or for glory like 'fake' heroes, and most of E-class's decisions were forced upon them, so with that logic, he'd probably be more indifferent to E-class. Maybe he'd even sympathize with them, want to help them, idk. 
> 
> That's where I'm at right now: does he want to kill them, or nah? Send me your thoughts down below! I really need some help here!


	9. The Great Wedding Ceremony of 3-E

Itona was the one who found out about it. 

It was two weeks before the deadline for Korosensei. E-class was wrapping up the end of an amazing year together when Kurahashi asked Karasuma and Irina what their plans were once the year was over and they would no longer be employed as teachers.

“Irina accepted a position with the Ministry of Defense, so we will continue working together there,” Karasuma answered dismissively. It was a fair answer, and it didn’t raise any red flags or questions with the rest of the students. Most of them suspected this would happen.

But then Itona spoke up.

“I thought you two were moving in together too.”

Apparently, the boy overheard Irina lamenting over Karasuma’s furniture choices for ‘their’ apartment. He didn’t think much of it and merely pointed it out as an observation.

The rest of E-class, however…

“You’re moving in together?!” they echoed.

“Are you guys getting married?” asked Okano, while Okajima declared, “Man, how did someone like Karasuma-sensei score _ that?” _

“More like, why would someone like Karasuma-sensei want to do that?” Shinsou muttered. Irina growled and threw a shoe at her protege’s head, much to Midoriya’s horror (“Ah, Hitoshi, are you okay?!”)

“Can you punks just shut up and stop making a big deal out of it?” Irina hissed. “We’re grown adults, for crying out loud. We can do whatever we want.”

However, no one was paying attention to her, instead focused on the octopus looming behind the two human teachers. “I’m sorry, my friends, but I simply cannot accept this kind of behavior,” Korosensei said. Suddenly, he jumped up, brandishing a wedding veil. “We cannot forgo celebrating this enormous step in your relationship! I declare that at noon tomorrow, we will hold an E-class wedding! I am an ordained minister, after all.”

“You are?” the class questioned, and Korosensei pulled out his certificate as proof.

“We’re not getting married,” Karasuma deadpanned, making Irina yelp and hold her heart. The dark-haired man sighed and turned to the sniveling woman. “We’re not getting married _ tomorrow, _okay?”

“C’mon, Karasuma-sensei, don’t be such a downer,” Nakamura nagged. “It’s not even official unless you sign the papers. This will be a mock ceremony, like roleplay practice for your real one.”

“And don’t bother getting all broody and saying something like ‘Who says there will even be a real one?’” mocked Kimura. “We all know it’s going to happen. Might as well have one with us, considering how much work we had to do to get you guys together.”

Karasuma was still adamantly against it, but then Irina looked up at him with big, watering eyes, and suddenly all of E-class was following in suit, and Korosensei was giggling in his ear and humming the wedding march.

“Fine, but I’m not planning any of it,” he relented. His class cheered and high-fived each other.

“Don’t worry, Karasuma-sensei,” Nagisa said, grinning widely as he pulled out a notebook with Midoriya. “We’ve got you covered.”

God, why did he take on this job?

-.-.-.-

The ceremony was held on the practice fields outside the 3-E building. Sugaya designed a massive wedding banner with Karasuma and Irina’s names on it and way too many hearts. Kurahashi, Kanzaki and Hara gathered a variety of flowers native to the mountain and planted them alongside the walkway. Chairs were lined up, facing the altar put together by Isogai and Yoshida. It was carved from fresh wood, with a knife and gun sculpted in the front. 

Karasuma was put into a stuffy gray suit by Yada and Maehara (why he couldn’t wear his usual black one was beyond him). Korosensei was decked out in full priest gear — “Is it appropriate for him to wear that if he isn’t religious?” Sugino asked — and, oddly enough, Karma was declared his best man.

“It’s because Shinsou refused to be the maid of honor unless I had to suffer too,” the red-haired boy explained, lazily playing with his knife boutonniere. 

Since it seemed E-class decided they were sticklers for Western tradition, Karasuma wasn’t allowed to see Irina until she was walking down the aisle. He stood next to the altar with Korosensei and Karma while the majority of the class sat in the seats. Ritsu suddenly started playing the wedding march from her speaker, and the class stood up. Karasuma resisted the urge to facepalm. 

The procession started with the self-appointed maids and groomsmen walking down the aisle — somehow Terasaka ended up as one, and Karasuma wondered if Shinsou blackmailed him into this position too. Or maybe it was Nakamura. 

Then came Nagisa and Midoriya as the ring bearer and flower boy, respectively. Midoriya seemed oddly shameless to parade down the aisle with a basket of flower petals. His green-haired was adorned with multiple flowers, making it look even more like a bush. But then again, the kid always was a ray of sunshine flower child, so it actually made sense. 

Then came the bride, escorted by her maid of honor Shinsou. Irina’s dress was shockingly modest and plain, covering up almost all of her skin with little detailing. But even Karasuma would admit, she looked stunning in it. Shinsou walked down the aisle, holding a bouquet of anti-sensei knives. Shockingly, he wasn’t wearing a dress, and Karasuma had a feeling there was a large fight about that one.

He was wearing heels though, the poor kid. 

Irina finally joined him at the altar and Shinsou went to go stand next to Midoriya. The music stopped playing at the class audience took their seats. He noticed Mimura and Okajima out of the corner of his eyes, Recording and taking pictures. 

“Dearly beloved,” Korosensei said, his over deep and overdramatic. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of these two teachers. Now, Karasuma Tadaomi, repeat after me. I, Karasuma Tadaomi, promise to cherish and love—”

“Is this really necessary?” Karasuma hissed, earning him a flick to the ear by one of the tentacles.

“Yes. Now repeat after me. I, Karasuma Tadaomi…”

Korosensei led them through the ridiculously long vows he wrote for both of the teachers (_aren’t you supposed to write your own vows? _Karasuma wondered). The P.E. teacher was very quickly losing his patience. 

Finally, Korosensei had Nagisa bring out the rings. They were green, and Karasuma realized as he watched Korosensei very pointedly avoid touching them that they were made out of anti-sensei material. 

“Now, by the power invested in me by the Assassination Classroom, I now pronounce you husband and wife!”

The class cheered and clapped. Chiba and Hayami fired their rifles and showered glitter everywhere. Takebayashi and Okuda set off some questionable science experiments that acted like small fireworks.

“C’mon, Karasuma-sensei, you gonna kiss the bride or what?” Muramatsu barked, and the P.E. teacher scowled.

“That’s highly inappropriate behavior for a teacher—”

Suddenly, his legs were kicked out from underneath him by Nagisa and Karma at the same time Midoriya and Shinsou pushed Irina, and they had to catch each other to stay upright. The teachers’ faces were centimeters apart, both blushing bright red.

“Kiss already!” shouted Hazama, and Irina smiled shyly (it was a rare look for her) and pressed her lips against Karasuma’s for a chaste kiss. The class roared in approval, but Karasuma wasn’t paying them any mind. 

“You, uh, look very beautiful,” he mumbled. Damn, he should’ve said that earlier, shouldn’t he?

Irina looked pleased, nonetheless. “And you look very handsome.”

They stared into each other’s eyes and Karasuma thought to himself, _ hey, maybe this really will work out for us. _

But then he was suddenly being pulled upward and brandished by his 'wife,' her nails digging into his shoulders. “Doesn’t my _ husband _ look so handsome, Shinsou?! Ah, I’ve married such a sexy beast!”

“Why are you like this?!” Shinsou despaired, taking refuge behind Midoriya. Karasuma silently agreed, muttering, “We’re not even married for real.”

“Ah, such a beautiful moment!” Korosensei cried, blowing his nose into his priest uniform. Karasuma sighed and smirked, deciding to just soak up the happy moment. Who knows if there will ever be another time like this.

The deadline is in two weeks, after all. Happy moments, moments with Korosensei…who’s to say what will happen then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who commented and gave me advice about the Stain arc! It was so, so, soooo helpful, you have no idea. I think I've come to a decision that I like, but knowing me, it'll probably change a billion times over. This is why I write super far ahead, folks!


	10. The Adventures of the Fathers: Weddings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part Two of Adventures of the Fathers

Everyone knew Gakuhou and Asami were going to get married. 

Even when they weren’t dating, it was obvious. Asami brought out the best parts of Gakuhou in a way not even Toshio could, and Gakuhou...really needed someone like Asami. 

(And yes, he loved her and made her happy, but let’s be frank. Hayashida Asami was way out of Asano Gakuhou’s league. She’s way out of everyone’s league. Those are just the facts.)

Toshio and Gakuhou finally went their separate ways for university; Gakuhou was accepted into Harvard while Toshio returned to Canada to attend the University of Toronto. Asami (after getting offers to virtually every elite university she applied to) chose to go to MIT, planning on going into vaccine research.

“Everyone is so caught up in quirks, we have made no strides in the world of medicine! Anti-vaxxers still exist because of some bogus research that claimed vaccines make your kids quirkless. Are you kidding me?”

They’d meet up at least once a month, if not more, during their entire undergraduate and secondary degrees, which meant Toshio was well caught up on their relationship status. And quite frankly, he's sick and tired of them dancing around the topic.

“If neither of you pops the question within the next month, I’m going to do it for you,” he declared during one of their meetups a year into medical school (or graduate school for Gakuhou).

“If you don’t actually settle down with a consistent partner in the next year, I’m going to do it for you,” Asami shot back. 

And okay, Toshio wasn’t exactly the best at dating. The longest he ever had a girlfriend or boyfriend was four months, and that was an anomaly among the rest. He just always struggled to find someone that seemed to work for him.

(As well as someone that wasn’t freaked out by the fact that he never slept, even after having sex. It was apparently unsettling to have nighttime sex with a partner and fall asleep while the other sat there awake the entire night.)

-.-.-.-

A year before Gakuhou was set to graduate, he finally got engaged to Asami. And surprisingly, she wasn’t the one to ask the question.

“You just lost me a hundred dollar bet,” Toshio whined while admiring Asami's ring, earning him a dutiful smack (because some things never change). Their wedding was held a year later, and the planning went fairly smoothly, save for one small hiccup.

“I’ve known him longer, so he should be my best man!” Gakuhou argued, while Asami scoffed, “Yeah, but we’re med students in arms together. We’ve been through a lot, so he should be my maid of honor.”

“But that’s a girl’s position!”

“Don’t be sexist!”

“Our bond is deeper!”

“I’m his favorite!”

“Guys!” Toshio interrupted before it could escalate further. “Why can’t I just be both?”

And so he was. He wore a crisp gray tuxedo and carried a bouquet of flowers down the aisle, and totally bawled his eyes out as his two best friends became husband and wife.

During the reception, Toshio, as the ultimate best man’s maid of honor in the world, was put on guest occupying duty. Gakuhou’s family, still displeased he didn’t end up marrying an heiress, invited a bunch of influential families out of spite, all bringing their daughters whom Gakuhou was supposed to pick from for an arranged marriage. It was Toshio’s job to keep all these creepy families away from the happy couple.

So it’s only fitting that, by doing this, he met Sasaki Hikari, daughter of a wealthy philanthropist and an aspiring playwright herself. She glanced down at his flower bouquet and smiled.

“It takes quite the man to carry that around so shamelessly,” she said, playful and witty, and Toshio realized,  _ oh, wow, I’m in love. _

“Shameless, huh? I hope you’re using that in a good way,” he replied, leaning in playfully. Hikari smirked.

“Of course.”

They talked for the rest of the night, getting to know each other. Toshio didn’t even bother trying to stop the unwanted guests, completely enthralled with the woman in front of him (something that would forever be held against him).

“When you and Sasaki-san get married, I’m doing nothing for you,” declared Asami, and Toshio sputtered.

“Marriage? Who said anything about marriage? Do you not know me, Asami?”

Asami does, in fact, know him very well. They were married two years later.

-.-.-.-

At Toshio and Hikari’s wedding, Toshio walked the aisle holding the bouquet for old times sake, his best man and best woman at his side (because, once again, they couldn’t reach a decision on one, so they went with both.) 

Following the wedding, both couples finally finished up schooling and decided to go back to Japan for work. Toshio got residency at a hospital in Tokyo, while Asami joined a cutting-edge research facility, Gakuhou started dabbling in the stock markets to get enough money to open up his cram school (he was concerningly good at it), and Hikari’s first published play got picked up by a local theater. 

They were out for dinner together when Asami brought it up. “My grandmother keeps asking when I’m having a baby, like it’s so weird to be twenty-seven and childless. Have your relatives been the same, Hikari?”

Toshio’s wife shrugged. “A little. It’s just so strange for me, thinking about having a kid already. I’m sure I’d love him or her, but what if I’m not ready? I don’t want to be a bad parent!”

Toshio rubbed his wife’s back assuringly. “Man, could you imagine us as parents though, trying to raise mini-us-humans?”

Everyone at the table shuddered at the thought.

-.-.-.-

“Wait,” Hitoshi said, scrutinizing the photo. “You’re telling me that my dad met my mom because he was parading around with a bouquet of flowers at your wedding?”

Principal Asano looked at the photo and laughed, it clearly bringing back good memories. “Ah, yes. Originally he was planning on wearing heels too, but we decided not to scare the conservative guests  _ too  _ much. We still wanted their money.”

Hitoshi shuddered at the thought of his father wearing heels. But, you know what they say.

_ Like father, like son. _


	11. 5 Times People Mislabeled Shinsou and Midoriya’s Relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay double updates! Happy New Year!

In hindsight, Izuku understood why it might be a common misconception. He and Shinsou were extremely close, closer than brothers. And they’ve always understood that’s how their relationship was; they’ve never needed to really define it to each other, it just  _ was.  _ They cared for each other, they watched each other’s backs, pushed each other to be better. They didn’t need labels for what they were to each other.

But apparently, the rest of the world did. And the rest of the world was  _ very  _ bad at labeling their relationship.

-.-.-.-

While Korosensei knew about it, they never officially told their classmates about their little bet made on the train ride to Musutafu. In fact, it wasn’t until a week later that someone finally found out. They had just finished a spar when Isogai and Kataoka walked up, arriving at school early like the responsible class representatives they were.

“Getting some extra training in before class?” Kataoka asked, amused. “That’s unusual for you.”

Her gaze was locked on the panting brainwasher, who kindly flipped her off. Izuku sweatdropped but didn’t bother defending his friend; Shinsou was notorious for skipping Karasuma’s training with Karma. Kataoka’s skepticism was well placed.

“Something like that,” answered Izuku, using the sleeve of his P.E. uniform to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “We’re working on our hero training together, since we both want to get into U.A. but we aren’t allowed to attend any of the main campus help sessions since we’re in E-class. It was Shinsou’s idea actually, training together so we could keep each other accountable. We also have a bet that whoever comes out victorious with our spar at the end of the year gets to design the other’s hero costume, so we’re taking it very seriously. Currently we're tied, but that's only because Shinsou keeps on cheating and — hey, I'm only telling the truth!”

The class representatives didn’t seem too put off by Izuku’s word vomit, smiling as they reevaluated the duo. “That’s awesome!” Isogai cheered. “They say a healthy rivalry is the perfect motivation for growth, after all.”

Izuku nodded, but then the words fully caught up to him. “Wait. This isn’t — we’re not rivals.”

Kataoka and Isogai exchanged glances. “Well, sure, you may not  _ just  _ be rivals, but what you’ve described is basically that. There’s nothing wrong with being friends and rivals,” the girl class representative reasoned.

And while Kataoka had a point, that didn’t mean the feeling of  _ wrongness  _ surrounding the word was gone. The term ‘rivals’ seemed so cold, so competitive, and so  _ not  _ him and Shinsou. Sure, they pushed each other’s fighting skills and had their silly bet, but it wasn’t fueled rivalry. A rival is supposed to be your opponent, and Shinsou is...Shinsou. There’s no other word for it.

Shinsou came and stood next to Izuku, his arms crossed.

“Jolly Green and I are just friends, guys. Can’t friends push each other to get better too?”

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief hearing Shinsou on the same page as him. Kataoka and Isogai shrugged, their confusion and amusement evident on their faces, but they didn’t push the topic any further. 

Two days later, Izuku and Shinsou were studying for an upcoming math quiz when a familiar yellow blur rushed by, and suddenly their math textbooks were replaced with a self-help guide on ‘How to Maintain a Healthy Friendship with Your Rival.’

“Korosensei!” Izuku whined, even though their teacher was long gone. “We’re not rivals!”

-.-.-.-

Moving to Tokyo was...hard for Inko. Granted, Musutafu wasn’t too far from the massive city, just a short train ride away if she wanted to visit anyone, but then again, the son of her best friend was the reason she moved in the first place (not that Mitsuki knows that). It just felt awkward, and she felt so alone.

Of course, she had Izuku, but her poor baby also wasn’t the same after the move. He refused to unpack all of his things, even his hero posters, and seemed locked on the idea of returning to Musutafu to attend U.A. And Inko wanted to support her baby’s goal, she really did, but she was so afraid (how could she not be?!) and nothing she did to deter the goal seemed to work and—

No, no, she shouldn’t think like that. What kind of mother tries to deter their child’s dreams? She’s just...scared, and she had no one to talk about her fears to, and she feels like she’s drowning in failure all the time.

“Midoriya-san,” her boss kindly approached after she knocked the files off her desk for the third time that day. “Why don’t you take a short break? There’s a convenience store just down the street; stretch your legs, get a treat, and I’m sure you’ll be good to go after that.” 

Inko bowed profusely and scurried out of the office. Her brain felt like it was bouncing around in her skull, all of her worries getting jumbled up together. Izuku told her that he’s been staying out late because of a study group he joined, but she’s noticed random bruises and cuts showing up on her son’s arms and legs since he started this. Is he being bullied again by someone in that study group? Is Izuku keeping it a secret again? Why is the world so cruel to her baby—

“Ah, ma’am, do you need some help?”

It was then that Inko realized she’s been pouring herself the same cup of coffee for the last minute, and it was spilling all over the floor and making a mess.

“Oh my — I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking and just got lost in my head and — I’m so sorry!”

She scrambled to grab napkins and clean up her mess, but there was so much coffee everywhere, and it was getting on her skirt, and she couldn’t go to work with a stained skirt. Why, why must these kinds of things happen to her?

A gentle hand reached out to stop her aggressive mopping, and Inko turned to see a young boy, who had to be around the same age as Izuku, wearing an employee apron. His hair was purple and styled as wildly as her own son’s, and his eyebags were severe enough to make any parent worry. 

“It’s alright, ma’am, I can take care of it,” the boy assured her, taking the napkins from her hand. Inko nodded and scrambled to stand up, an embarrassed flush settling on her face. She’s such a mess even a child has it more together than she does.

The purple-haired teen made quick work of wiping up the majority of the spilled drink before heading to the employee closet. He came back out with a bucket and mop, and he handed Inko a spray bottle and towel.

“For the stain, ma’am,” he said, and Inko felt tears brim in her eyes. What a kind young man, to think of her even though she’s the one that made this mess. She stuttered her thanks and rushed to clean herself up in the bathroom. She wished the world had more people like that young boy.

After that, she started stopping by the convenience store more often. The boy was clearly a student, only working the early morning and evening shifts. She learned his name was Shinsou, and he was Izuku’s age. He was soft-spoken but well-mannered enough, and he put up with Inko’s rambling like a pro. And the more she met the boy, the more determined she became for Shinsou to meet Izuku. Someone like Shinsou would keep Izuku safe from bullying.

A few weeks later, and Inko decided to set her plan in motion. She texted Izuku and asked him to pick up milk, reiterating that it had to be from the specific convenience store next to her job. Izuku seemed confused by the specific location but agreed to do it nonetheless. 

Later that evening, Izuku returned with the milk grinning brighter than she’s seen in weeks and typing fervently on his phone. When Izuku turned away to help cook dinner, leaving his phone on the counter, Inko subtly glanced over at the screen. Her face lit up like a candle when she saw a notification from ‘Shinsou’ and she internally celebrated.

These two boys may be strangers right now, but soon they’ll be best friends. She’s determined.

(Which is why she was so shocked when Shinsou came to visit her baby in the hospital and learned that not only were they classmates, but they have been best friends since the beginning of the year.)

-.-.-.-

Hitoshi wasn’t the biggest fan of Valentine's Day, or White Day, or really any holiday of the couply implications. It felt like whenever those days came around, you had to tread on ice or else you’ll somehow end up accidentally confessing to someone you don’t have feelings for just because you looked at them. He also hated receiving gifts, even from friends because now everyone else is trying to psychoanalyze the implications of Kurahashi giving him a cat eraser on Valentine’s Day, even though she gives everyone cute erasers all the time. 

But if there was one thing he hated most about Valentine’s Day, it was that best friends suddenly couldn’t be best friends and spend the holiday together. Or even talk to each other, or breathe the same air, or  _ anything.  _

It’s even worse in E-class. He’s already been cornered three times by people asking him about Nagisa and Karma’s relationship status, and okay, maybe that didn’t count because those two actually were dating and no one else knew, but still. Would it really matter that much if they were just two friends hanging out on some stupid holiday?

This is why he was understandably annoyed when he was sitting in class and Okano innocently asked him, “Hey, Shinsou, what plans do you and Midoriya have for Valentine’s Day?”

The brainwasher paused in his game of chess against Ritsu and looked up, frowning. “Why do you think we have plans?” Because they didn’t. Right now, Hitoshi’s only plans were to bundle under his bed and not come out until morning.

“Dude, you can’t not have something planned for Valentine’s Day,” Sugino said. “Even if you’re not going out of the house, you should at least spend the evening together or something. That’s couples basics 101.”

Sometime when his friend was talking, Hitoshi felt his brain shut down and reboot as he tried to process the words. There was a long, empty pause.

“...we’re not a couple?”

He probably shouldn’t have made it sound like a question, but he was so confused he couldn’t help it. Muramatsu barked in laughter in the background, while many of his classmates exchanged stunned glances.

“You mean you’re...not dating?” asked Okuda, and hearing it put that way was enough to send Hitoshi’s brain into overdrive. Thank goodness Midoriya wasn’t in the room; his best friend probably would’ve died of embarrassment by now.

“No,” he flushed. “Why would you think that?”

“Um, because you’re the closest in the entire class? You’re always spending time together,” suggested Kimura.

Yoshida snorted. “Yeah, dude, and you’ve kissed like, twice in front of the class.”

Heat flared in his face. “That doesn’t mean anything! That’s just one of my assassination techniques!”

“Then how come you haven’t used it on anyone else?” challenged Hayami, her sharp eyes calculating. Hitoshi rubbed his face and groaned.

“Because I don’t like using it in the first place? Honeypot assassination wasn’t exactly my first choice for training, okay? I’m not dating Izuku.”

There was a silent pause, and Hitoshi relaxed in his chair, thinking it was over. But then Chiba of all people spoke up.

“You’re on a first-name basis.”

The brainwasher growled. “So are Nagisa and Karma!” (Which is a terrible argument because the duo _was_ _ _ dating, but his classmates didn’t know that yet!)

“Everyone is one a first name basis with Karma and Nagisa,” Hara pointed out. Hitoshi gave up and slammed his head on the table, sending the chess pieces flying everywhere.

In retrospect, them being mistaken for lovers was incredibly common, especially after they graduated from middle school. Countless times they’d go to the store together and some person would comment how they were “Such a cute couple” and then Midoriya would freak out and start rambling about how they’re not dating, and the stranger would get super overwhelmed and probably regretted ever speaking to them, but Hitoshi did nothing to stop it because they deserve to  _ suffer  _ for making the embarrassing assumption in the first place.

And okay, maybe he and Midoriya shouldn’t hold hands in public or lean on each other’s shoulders when riding the train so much. It was understandable why this misconception could happen. But screw everyone else, Hitoshi’s going to stand as close as he wants to his best friend and it’ll be acceptable because he  _ said so,  _ got it?

-.-.-.-

When Todoroki heard about the mysterious Kunugigaoka Junior High E-class and their correlation with the Tentacle, it didn’t take him long to figure out that those two boys from the entrance exam were in the class. Video of the purple-haired one defending the green-haired one and brainwashing a crowd of reporters only confirmed his suspicions.

He wondered passively what this meant for their U.A. admittance, especially after word got out that they killed the Tentacle. They took down the Number One Villain, but now many considered them to be threats to society. He thought it’d be stupid if they were punished; if they took down the villain no other hero could, then clearly they must be stronger than all the other heroes.

He figured he wouldn’t know until school started, but then his father came home raging one day about it. 

“This is an embarrassment!” Endeavor yelled, slamming his fists on the table. Todoroki watched passively from across the room. “To think  _ they  _ will get to go to U.A. and become heroes. They’re disgraces! They deserve to be locked up, not go to hero school!”

Todoroki knew who ‘they’ were without asking. Ever since the infamous mountain raid, his father has been grumbling non-stop about the Kunugigaoka E-class. He also has developed a fear of hot sauce, which Todoroki takes full advantage of.

“The, ah, END agents got into the Hero course then?” It was weird to call them that, weird to think of people his age being government agents, but then again, everything about this situation was weird.

“Agent,” Endeavor spat. “Only one of them got into the Hero course, while they put the other in General Education. As if that’s supposed to make it better.”

His father continued to grumble, but Todoroki tuned him out. Only one got in? Which one? They seemed so evenly matched for skill, he couldn’t fathom only one earning their place in the Hero course. 

But whoever made it in, it was still a shame; the duo worked so well together, beating him in the entrance exam race without their quirks. It’s a shame to know the duo will never work together again. Because not only are they separated by classes, but there’s no way a decision like this wouldn’t tear their relationship in half. Todoroki knows the next time he sees the two, he won’t see a team — he’ll see enemies.

-.-.-.-

After getting his senses snapped into him, Asano Gakuhou was determined to be better. He made a conscious effort to be a better father for his son, a better educator and principal, a better friend to Toshio. Which is why he didn’t bat an eye when little Shinsou Hitoshi showed up on his door and in need of a place to sleep. Even with the rest of the world at his throat about the Tentacle incident, he made sure that by the end of the night, he had all guardianship rights to Hitoshi signed over to him.

He was determined to right his wrongs, and he was determined to do it perfectly. He did as Hitoshi needed, allowing him to move into an apartment in Musutafu with promises that’d he’d keep in touch. He promised himself to check on Toshio for Hitoshi as often as possible. Whatever Hitoshi needed, he would provide.

Which is why, after visiting his ward’s apartment and noticing the green-haired boy living there, he didn’t hesitate to pull out a stack of paperwork and hand them to Midoriya.

“Um, Principal Asano...what are these?” The green-haired boy eyed the stack nervously.

Gakuhou took a sip of his tea. “Just a few legal papers. I apologize for not noticing earlier. As Hitoshi’s guardian, it’s only right that I take legal responsibility for his family as well, no matter how makeshift it is.”

He busied himself with his drink, oblivious to the growing panic on Midoriya’s face until he heard the choked, “H-Heh?!”

Gakuhou glanced up. “Hmm? Was I too bold?”

“F-F-F-Family?”

Gakuhou was confused; it was an emotion he was not used too. “Yes. You’re brothers, are you not?”

Midoriya shook his head violently. “We’re not...we’re not related, sir!”

Gakuhou laughed into his tea. “Well, obviously. You look nothing alike. But surely you understand that not all families are blood-related. It’s my understanding that your little E-class was as close to a family unit as you could get.”

Midoriya’s panic seemed to taper out, but the boy was still blushing. “I guess...but with that argument, wouldn’t you need to obtain guardianship of all of E-class?”

The green-haired boy chuckled at the sentiment but stopped when he saw the thoughtful look on Gakuhou’s face. “Hmm…”

Midoriya sweatdropped.

Gakushuu found him that night in the middle of filing all the paperwork to do exactly as Midoriya suggested. His son looked him dead in the eye, as if his quirk was the one that worked through eye contact.

“Please tell me this is a joke,” he deadpanned. Gakuhou met his son’s stare and smirked.

“I was not aware that I ever made jokes.”

(In the end, he didn’t actually end up filing the paperwork, but he kept it around just in case. You never know with that class.)

  
  


**Bonus: And the One Time Someone Kinda Got It Right**

“Okay, so if you’re not rivals, and you’re not lovers, and you’re not brothers or any other possible relationship, then what are you?” Maehara quizzed them one day when they were lounging in the END headquarters. Shinsou’s head was burrowed in Midoriya’s lap as the duo sprawled out over a couch, recovering from the grueling training exercise.

Midoriya shrugged. “I-I don’t really know. We’re just…” Another shrug. “You know.”

Maehara glared blankly. “No. I really don’t.”

“Platonic soulmates.”

The entire class looked over at Nagisa, who was standing on the other side of the training room with Karma but still somehow listening in to their conversation.

“If I had to define it, I’d call it platonic soulmates,” the bluenette continued. “That’s what your emotions look like at least.”

And for the first time ever, the label someone gave their relationship didn’t feel totally wrong. Granted, it didn’t feel totally right either; probably nothing would, their relationship not one to be labeled. But they had to choose…

“Yeah, sure, let’s go with that,” Shinsou grumbled and rolling over. Midoriya giggled and ran his fingers through his friend’s hair, humming in agreement.

_ Platonic soulmates. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo. Sorry it's been a while, December has been crazy and I've been very obsessed with filling my Pokedex in Pokemon Sword. Whoops!
> 
> Anyways, UPDATES:
> 
> I promised tomorrow I would post the first chapter of the sequel!!!! I'm still planning on doing that, but I'm also conveniently planning on getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. It shouldn't be a huge issue, but just know if it's not tomorrow, it'll be Friday. It's coming, I promise!!!!
> 
> As for this story, I'm probably just going to continue updating as a feel like it. Just random fun things here and there until I'm satisfied.


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